Today’s big project was to get the winch installed. It went pretty smoothly except that I didn’t think to mount the roller fairlead on the winch plate before installing the winch. This meant that I basically had to take the whole thing off and start over. But it’s on and is functioning. Now I’ve just got to get back out to Gilmer to give it a field trial!
Here’s some pictures of the installation. Note the Gilmer Mud ™, it gets everywhere!
So I decided to replace my old dial/mercury switch thermostat with one of the programmable ones. It’s a really good thing to do because then you can set it to a more energy efficient temperature when you’re not home. Sounds pretty simple, right?
The first model I tried, a Home Depot store brand, wouldn’t work with my system. See the heating and air conditioning in this house is zoned. Zoned is good. Zoned means you can heat or cool different parts of the house independantly of each other.
In my case zoned is bad. The second floor is wired in as the second zone which means that there’s no fan control and only a very basic on/off mechanism. Unlike the downstairs which has much more control.
After taking the first one back I went over to Lowes and found one that should work. I got it all hooked up and nothing happened. Just like the first one. But this time I went downstairs and tried to turn the fan on. Nothing. Up in the attic I found that a fuse had blown due to me monkeying around without turning the electricity off. I replaced the fuse and tried again. Everything works! So now the upstairs is on a timer as well. Just in time for the Texas summers. Hopefully the electric bill will be lower.
Dear Lord they’ve released it on DVD.
I can’t wait to get my copy.
Today is St. Patrick’s day, my name day (meaning the day we commemorate the Saint whose name we took when we were baptized). Read more about him and his life. It’s not all about green beer and corned beef.
So I went up to Collins Brothers Jeeps after work today to exchange the receiver hitch mounting plate for a TJ specific plate. Rose was kind enough to help me out, but I found out that the 8000 lb. roller fairlead that I’ve got won’t work with the TJ mounting plate. It’ll work with the receiver hitch, CJ, and YJ mounts, but the TJ mount is just different enough to require the 10000 lb. model. They’re going to swap it out for me when I bring it in, so that’s another trip out to Wylie after work tomorrow.
I just finished watching Gods and Generals, the prequel to Gettysburg. It’s incredible. Not just a Civil War movie, it does a fantastic job of showing the human side of people on both the North and the South. Now I’ve got three more books that will be going into my to read stack. Gods and Generals, The Killer Angels, and The Last Full Measure.
Today’s the first day of the Orthodox Lenten fast. We do things a little differently than the western Lent. Here are some informative links:
OCA’s Lent Page
On Lenten Fasting
Some vegetarian recipes
Some more Lenten recipes
I forgot to put this in this weekend. On the way back from Gilmer I tried out one of the JR Ultimate cigars that Tiger Bob gave me. This was a nice smoke, the draw was pretty easy and the flavors were great. The only down side was that I think this one was a little too loose, because about 2/3 of the way down it got really hot and I had to give up on it. I’ve got another and will be testing that one. Look for updates…
Another byproduct of this weekend’s wheeling outing was that I came home with an 8000 pound winch for the Jeep. I’ve got to get out to Collins Brothers Jeeps, who were so kind as to donate the winch, roller fairlead, and mounting plate, to swap out the universal plate for a TJ specific one. Then the fun starts!
Today was the club run to Barnwell Mountain for the officers election. This was my first run with the lift and tires and I had a blast! We ran Spider Ravine, Clydes Ravine, Venom Loop, Sunday Drive, and after lunch, Chaos Canyon. I was wiped out and headed home after that, but the Jeep performed well. Even if I did pick a bad line on Clydes Ravine and ended up doing a pretty good squirrel impersonation. I think I freaked out the Rubicon behind me since he got on the CB and declared that he was taking the bypass.
The next thing I’ve got to do to the Jeep is to install a locker on at least the front axle. I got myself into a little trouble that I would have walked out of if I’d been locked.
Here’s a link to the pictures.